Into the Fire
by Cari
Summary: A young mutant woman leaves the mansion to visit her father and returns an experiment gone weird. (Movie/cartoon show verse; PG13 because of curse words, I'm just being causiousous


Into the Fire  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men; I wouldn't mind owning Gambit, but oh well...so please don't sue me   
  
Setting: Since I've never really read the comics, but I used to watch the cartoon show and I've seen the movie......Well it's a combo of movie and cartoon show verse, but really I pulled it out of my head. No canon to follow particularly.  
  
  
After throwing some clothes in a small duffel bag, Cecilia Fox made up her bed quickly and surveyed the room, making sure she had everything she needed for a weekend at her dad's house.  
"Where ya going?" a voice asked from behind her.  
She turned around and smiled at her roommate who enjoyed sneaking in on her, "Hey Britt. I'm heading up to see dad for the weekend."  
Britt walked in and sat on her own bed.   
" Oh. Okay. Well drive safely, Cece," she said in a disappointing tone.   
Cece threw a pillow at Britt and smiled mischievously, "Hey, I thought I told you. Listen, I promise we can go out to the clubs next weekend."  
"Before you move out?"  
"Yeah, before I move out," she said as she slipped into a pair of boots. "It's not like I'm leaving the mansion. I'll just be across the building."  
Britt shrugged, "I know, I know. But it'll be lonely here without you. I know you only stayed to help me. Thanks."  
Cece stood up and slipped into a jacket, "No prob, hon. And I won't be gone for long, so don't worry kiddo."  
"K, bye."  
Cece waved as she grabbed her bag and walked out of the room. When she was out of earshot, she mumbled to herself, "Man, that kid's gotta get a grip."  
As she stepped outside to the parking lot, she slipped her sunglasses on and put a cigarette to her lips. Touching the end with the tip of her finger, the cigarette immediately began burning. She took a deep drag and hopped into an old black convertible and started it up. She blew out the smoke as she sped out of the lot and on her way home.  
  
Loud rock music blared out of the speeding car as it wound through roads in northern hills. Cecilia's father, a once renowned biogeneticist, decided to bow out of busy city life to concentrate on his work in peaceful solitude. He built a house and laboratory during Cece's "education" at Xavier's Academy, equipped with everything he needed. Cece had always wondered if the house was for his concentration or his escape from the accusing eyes of his colleagues after learning of Cecilia's mutated gifts. But she gave up caring about what other people thought a long time ago, so it didn't bother her so much anymore.  
Finally reaching the house, hidden on a wooded hill in southeastern Canada, she jumped out and ran inside, shying from the dark and cool night. She threw her bag by the front door and ducked into the corridor that led to her father's lab.  
"Dad, you here?" she yelled. She thought to herself that of course he's here, he never leaves. "Hello?" Cece walked through the lab, looking at vials and printouts. It seems her dad had been busy recently. "Where is he?" she wondered out loud.  
A configuration of molecules and basic elements flickers on a computer monitor. Always curious to see what Ian Fox had up his sleeve, she looked closer at the screen and even pulled up the related files listed on the screen. At the top were a couple of files that were very intriguing:  
ADAMANTIUM  
"WOLVERINE"  
GENETIC RECONSTRUCTION  
These files were most recently accessed and she quickly glanced over them. She knew who Wolverine was, a fellow mutant who were part of the X-Men, and she knew what Adamantium was, a super-strong metallic substance that had been placed in Wolverine's body. Her father had dabbled in genetic reconstruction for many years, hoping it would prove to help humans in adapting to new diseases that rushed through society. Many of Ian Fox's colleagues accused him of doing such things to Cece to make her a mutant. This wasn't true. Supposedly her mother had similar powers but Maggie Fox died before Cece got to know her.  
What the hell are you doing, Dad?  
"Celia, what are you doing?" Ian Fox's proper English accent asked from behind her.  
Cece jumped and turned around, "Dad, don't sneak up on me like that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"  
He nodded and reached around her, turning off the monitor and then, as if it were his intent in the beginning, hugged his daughter and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Glad you could make it, dear. I've missed not having you around."  
"Thanks, Pop. What was that you are working on?"  
Ian smiled and shook his head, "I've just been commissioned to work on reformulating this new metal. Don't worry about it, dear."  
She arched a dark brow at him, "If you say so. I hope you aren't in trouble or something. If you ask me, I think you need to get out of here and take a vacation."  
He smiled again and turned Cece towards the door. "I think you're the one who need the vacation. It's awfully late; why don't you go on to bed. I have some things to take care of still."  
She shrugged, "Not really late for me, but I am tired. Driving too long does that to me at times. Night, Dad."  
"Goodnight, Cecilia," he said as he turned back into the lab.  
  
*********************  
The next morning, Celia woke to the smell of pancakes. She sat straight up in bed and yelled, "Dad you rock!" She slipped into her flip-flops and raced downstairs to the kitchen. "Ok, pancakes were a surprise, but you put blueberries in the them too? You're the best, Dad!"  
"Well, it's not everyday you come home, and I thought you probably didn't get these much."  
Celia smiled and nodded as she popped a loose berry into her mouth. Ian handed her a cup of coffee and sat down across the table from her. They ate in silence, and strangely enough, he never looked at her. She knew something was going on, but she decided to wait until after they finished eating to ruffle him up.   
Finally, she asked rather nonchalantly, as she walked to the sink to rinse her dishes off, "Dad, what's going on?"  
"What do you mean, love?" he answered cautiously.  
Celia turned around quickly and her head rushed, making her lean against the sink. "You're really quiet, Dad. And you never keep any of your projects from mer. Usually you have plenty to talk about. Are you in some kind of trouble?"  
Ian shook his head at Celia and his image doubled and then blurred in her eyes. Without moving an inch, a head rush hit her again, forcing her knees to buckle.  
Ian bolted from his chair and raced to her aid as her legs gave. He lifted her head up and she looked at him with glazed, drugged eyes. "Dad?" she asked weakly before darkness took her.  
  
  
  
She didn't know how long she had been out. Bits and pieces through a green tinted world came and went. She wasn't alone, and her father had betrayed her. Floating in liquid, she felt her limbs immobile and tied down. Her heart rate must have increased as she panicked because someone came and gave her a shot of something that made her sleep again. Occasionally she heard voices and couldn't see anything as she was taken from the liquid. Pricks of needles entered her skin; doing what she didn't know. Then came the pain. Searing fire blazed through her veins. As soon as she woke she would fall away again because the pain drained her so much. Finally she gave up fighting until everything was calm and tried her best to heal herself.  
  



End file.
